Ortaire de Coupigny’s Mona Lisa’s Smiling Husband offers a witty counterpoint to his previous Mona Lisa Smile from Profile, playfully suggesting a long-lost counterpart to da Vinci’s enigmatic muse. Encased within a circular tin can and framed in gold, the composition recalls the grandeur of classical portraiture, yet its subject—a fish with a bemused expression and subtly curved mouth—transforms the familiar into something unexpected.
The use of metal, wax, and pigments gives the piece a rich interplay of color and texture. The fish’s surface shimmers with deep blues, greens, and warm golds, while the wax lends a softened, painterly effect, much like the sfumato technique used in Renaissance masterpieces. The round frame reinforces the idea of a timeless medallion, a carefully contained portrait that blurs the line between historical reverence and contemporary humor.
The fish’s wide, watchful eye and slight smirk suggest a knowing presence—an amusing response to the Mona Lisa’s legendary ambiguity. If she holds her secrets in silence, then here, her imagined husband seems content in his own quiet amusement. The artwork taps into Pop Art’s fascination with cultural icons, much like Warhol’s repetitions of famous figures, reinterpreting one of art history’s most celebrated images with a sense of levity.
For collectors who appreciate contemporary mixed-media artworks, Mona Lisa’s Smiling Husband embodies Ortaire de Coupigny’s talent for blending classical themes with humor and material innovation. Both an homage and a parody, the work transforms an everyday object into a conversation between past and present, high art and playful reimagination.
"Mona Lisa Smiling Husband" - Artwork by Ortaire de Coupigny
Sculpture : metal on aluminium / Wax / pigments / Epoxy.
Size : 14 cm x 14 cm x 3cm.
One-of-a-kind artwork.
Signed by the artist
2024
Ready to hang (See back picture).
No exposure to direct sun or above 50°C or above 122°F.
